Casual Mode

In Casual Mode, you are preferably sent to a game that is in the setup phase, and to a server hosted in the location nearest to you. You are matched into any game that fits these two criteria; however, the game might not fit these criteria (may be hosted in a foreign country/may be already in progress) if availability is limited. Additionally, in Casual Mode, you are allowed to filter which maps you would like to play in. The division is first split into "Core Game Modes" and "Alternative Game Modes". In Core Game Modes, this can then be filtered down to Attack/Defend, Capture the Flag, Control Points (e.g., 5 CP), King of the Hill, and Payload. In Alternative Game Modes, this can then be filtered down to Payload Race, Misc (miscellaneous, games that fit into a category by themselves), Mannpower, and PASS Time. During events, additional categories may be added, such as selected Halloween maps for the duration of Halloween events. In each of these subcategories, the maps can be further filtered out individually.

In Casual Mode, you can start or join a "Party", in which you can be a member of a temporary group consisting of 6 players maximum. This group of people will travel to servers simultaneously, and will result in all players playing on the same team if it successfully connects to a server. After a game ends, the team will still be together. It will only be disbanded once everyone quits. Previously, games that friends were in could be joined by pressing "Join Game" on their Steam Profile. This is no longer possible in Casual Mode, due to the mode disabling "ad-hoc connections", but it is still possible in community servers.

In Casual Mode, you aesthetically level up, gaining experience points from victories and points scored in-game, of any type. There are 150 levels, with each level requiring more experience than the last. Each level changes the image on your "Coin", which is visible in the top left while selecting/loading a Casual game. These levels are first divided into six stages, Civilian, Freelance, Mercenary, Commando, Assassin, and Elite, with Civilian being the lowest stage and Elite being the highest stage. Each of these stages consists of 25 ranks. Each stage also changes the color of your Coin, ranging from light blue to rich red. Within each of the stages, there are another five sub-stages consisting of five types of Coins. In the first of the sub-stages, you are given a plain Coin. Leveling up the five individual levels within this stage will add one star at a time (starting from one) onto your Coin. Every five levels obtained will gain you more accessories for your Coin, but will reset the star-count to one. After 25 levels, this accessory system will reset, but the Coin will become a different color.

In addition to levels, there are tiers. After you surpass level 150, you will be reset to level 1, while your tier will increase by 1, and your badge will change its appearance accordingly. There are 8 tiers in total, making the maximum level 150, Tier 8.

The Casual Mode Level is a cosmetic feature that shows how much and how well you have played with others. These levels can never be lost, and they do not affect matchmaking. Casual Mode's levels are different from Competitive Mode's ranks; Competitive Mode's ranks do affect matchmaking and can be lost.[1]

Casual Mode also began the enforcement of sv_pure 1, a server command that forcibly disables custom effects (apart from HUDs and hitsounds) on official Valve servers.

Fixed an exploit related to not respawning in the spawn room at the beginning of Casual Mode matches.

Increased the matchmaking system's preference for matching large pre-made parties against each other in Casual Mode. This should result in more balanced matches, but may cause a slight increase in queue times for larger parties.

Redesigned the matchmaking screens to be lightweight overlays that can be summoned and dismissed from anywhere within the game.

Moved the Casual badge panel to the main menu.

Levels now go beyond 150. All players now have a Tier in addition to their Level. All players start at Tier 1. When your Level goes past 150 your Level resets to 1, your Tier goes up by 1, and your Casual badge will change its appearance to reflect your new status.

Players who had reached level 150 will have any experience beyond 45500 (the amount required to hit 150) put into an overflow pool. While playing Casual matches, any XP you earn will be matched and deducted from your overflow pool until it runs out.

The "Vote for the next map!" dialog can now be minimized to view the top scoring players.

Fixed matchmaking players being able to sit at the MOTD so they can't be kicked by players in the match. They will now show in the scoreboard on their assigned team and will be valid vote-kick targets by members of their team.

Players who consistently demonstrate a pattern of negative behavior in-game (based upon excessive reports from other players and several other factors) will now receive a temporary matchmaking ban.

Bugs

Occasionally, the Vote For Next Map Option may not allow players to vote, or so it may appear to a player joining just after the vote closed.

If a player gets disconnected in the middle of a match and attempts to rejoin, the player may be kicked for an "ad-hoc connection", despite it being through the matchmaking system, thus preventing the player from joining.